Championship II

Bode Miller going over a camel jump

Click… Click… went my trainer skis as I clicked into my bindings.  I use trainer skis so I don’t ski off all of my wax from my race skis.  I carry up a pair of skis up the chairlift to the top of my race run and give them to my coach so he can put a some final touches on them before my race run.  That is the race ritual which I have done since I can remember.  After that is done I plug in my headphones and get into the zone.  Inspection of the course was only about five minutes away at that point and I was sitting with my eyes closed trying to clear my mind.  Inspection is when everyone at the race slips down the run creates a tactical plan and memorizes all of the turns and terrain.  Inspection is one of the most important things in a Super-G race because you have little reaction time due to how fast you are going and you need to be ready for every little bump and roll.

Once I took a couple looks at the run and I felt comfortable with my memorization I went into the lodge to warm up and socialize before my run.  At this point I was super focused and when I am focused I am not the nicest person in the world but my friends know this so they don’t take it personally or at least I hope they don’t.  Not only was I warming up but I was icing my chins because they had some pretty bad chin bang.  Chin bang is when you take a jump too big and you land a little back seat and it bruises your chins and it is a skiers worst nightmare.  Luckily when I’m in a race run I can’t feel it because of how much my adrenaline is pumping but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt when I’m skiing around before my race run.

Forty Five Minutes Later…

Number twenty was in the gate so I started stripping down and getting in the right mind set to rip my run to shreds.  I got warmed up did a couple squats and legs swings, grabbed my skis, buckled my boots and skied down the start house.  The start house was tiny little shack made out of ply wood and I did not like it to much.  I got into to start house ran through the course one more time in my head before I heard the words, “Racer Ready? Ten seconds… Five… Four…. Three… I pulled out of the start as hard as I could and started ripping down the hill.  After the first fifteen gates or so came the big jump I prepped for air time got small and held aerodynamics throughout the air.  I hit the ground and kept skiing my heart out until the next jump.  The next jump consisted of two jumps and it shot me late and low so I had to struggle to make the next gate.  That was the one big mistake and it cost me way to much time.  I finished the run in thirteenth overall and third for my age group.  It was not what I wanted and I was disappointed but I sucked it up and got stoked for my best event, GS!

To Be Continued...

Championship Weekend I

Start house of a ski race

The weekend has finally come, the weekend that I have been working my butt off the entire season for. It is Championship weekend and I was confidently stoked because of how good the ski season had been going in the technical area (GS and Slalom).  It was about five thirty in the morning when I woke up to hop in the van and take a ten hour long road trip to Bachelor ski area in Bend, Oregon where the race was being held.  It was a long haul but the drive didn’t seem any worse than all of my other ski trips which were only about five or six hour road trips.  It did help that I slept half the way and that it was Championships!  This Championship was different than all of my other ones that I have attended in earlier years.  Instead of just my region  at the race the entire west coast was there including Alaska.  This meant more competition and also with more competition comes more stress, and pressure.

The team was staying at a hotel in Bend called “The Red Lion”.  It was a semi nice hotel with a terrible location and no where to eat but the restaurant that was smack dab in the middle of the parking lot.  In other words we ate at the same restaurant every single night we were there.  It was two to a room and I was so lucky to room with my close friend Shane that I have been skiing with my entire life basically and also our other ski friends two doors down.  Once we got there we took a dip in the pool and went straight to dinner.  It was a pretty mellow night, after our meeting we just went straight to bed to get prepared for the next day.

Next Day…

It was around six fifteen when I got up and threw on my long johns, sweats, and sweatshirt so I could load the van with my ski equipment and head over the the breakfast place.  I left the room a couple minutes later and Shane also did a couple minutes after me.  I sat eating breakfast and talking to new faces for about a half an hour until we had to jump in the vans and head off to the first day of racing.  The first event we were skiing in is a Super-G which is the fastest of all the events and in my mind one of the hardest due to the mental aspect you have to also bring to the table.  The drive was half an hour and I was asleep the majority of that half an hour with my headphones in my head on full blast.  I’m not really sure how I do it but I some how can fall asleep with rock blasting in my ears.

To Be Continued…

Unexpected Bro Trip III (continued 3)

A great representation of the weekend

After some congratulations to some fellow team mates and packing we were on our way down the windy road towards the airport.  The drive up to the resort is an hour full of switchbacks and is perfect for getting car sick because of this I quickly tried to get to sleep…

An hour and a half later…

I woke up and we were in the parking lot of the airport, my nap worked out perfectly.  We hopped out of the rental and started the long haul throughout the airport trying to find our flight.  It is hard to get your normal luggage around an airport but imagine having normal luggage along with four pairs of skis and all your ski clothes, it is not fun to say the least.  Once we’re settled in we only had about an hour long flight to Solana Beach, California.

An hour later…

I fell asleep again on the way to California due to the fact that ski racing tires you out in every possible way!  Once I opened my eyes and looked out the window I saw the plane defending and I heard the captain come on the intercom and say five minutes till landing.  I was once again very satisfied with my nap and the timing I had.  It was good to see the sun shining and to feel the humid air on my skin.  But isn’t it always good to get a change of scenery, especially after a hard day?  The drive from the airport to my friends house was only about another half an hour and this time I decided to stay awake.  The highway was lined with amazing views, houses, and everything else you can think of.  It was definitely weird to go from a ski town straight to a beach town.

We arrived at his house, threw all of our stuff in the bunk room and went straight down to the beach to jump in the water.  When we were down at the water Shane and I took a selfie and sent our ski coach a picture saying, “Warm welcome from Solana.” to get on his nerves that he is on a five hour road trip while we are swimming in the ocean.  The water was pretty cold but not to cold to get used to.  It was a short swim because both Shane and I were exhausted from our weekend so we decided to head back to the house and relax.

Next day…

We woke up the next day super stoked to go surfing and chilling around town all day.  After we ate breakfast we jumped into our wet suits, grabbed the surf boards and walked down to the beach.  The waves were not that good but good enough to catch a couple.  Shane and I were out there for around an hour with barely any luck besides Shane catching a couple small ones.  Finally, a wave came in and both Shane and I started patting in hoping to catch the wave.  The wave formed some more and we stood up catching some speed down the front of the wave.  It is such a good feeling to be on a wave, one of the best feelings you can get I would say, next to skiing deep powder of course!  From then on we dubbed that the “Bro Wave” and the rest of the day we lounged around until we had to jump back on the plane to get back to school and those dreaded responsibilities!

Unexpected Bro Trip III (continued 2)

Where I should have been (original)

Due to complications the day before we had two races that day.  Super-g is only a one run which makes it harder than all of the other tech events such as GS and Slalom that have two runs each.  I was relived to find that out because that meant that I had another crack at the course.  This time I am going to destroy it and win the run by a second and get back what I deserve, which was what I was telling myself riding up the lift to lap around and cheer on the girls on my team.

One Hour Later….

I sat at the start for a good hour before the boys were getting in the gate.  I was still bib number fourteen and was completely ready for the run.  I had my coaches crank down my dins (what determines how tight your binding is on your boot)  and I was stoked to get out of the gate.  Number one was in the gate and I started getting warmed up and peeled off all of my clothed downy to my trusty speed suit.  I brought my ski over to the pit to get clicked in and cheered on a couple of my older team mates coming out of the gate.  I was finally back in the gate ready to tear the course up!

The start gate worker started the famous phrase, Racer Ready? Ten Seconds…  Five.. Four.. Three I pull out with determination in my eyes and dropped back into my tuck once again.  I passed the first gate, the second, the third.  Bam!  I am on my ass sliding down the flats at the top.  My ski popped off again same foot and everything, I was fuming from the ears and I started hitting my poles on the ground in frustration.  I was so close to the start house that I decided to hike back to the start house.  I yelled at my coach because they did not get my bindings right again, then I stormed off to be alone and clear my head.  My ski season means everything to me and I can’t afford to be popping out of my skis for no apparent reason.

That concluded my disappointing race day and I was left to watch the people that I was planning to beat stand on the top of the podium.  I made my way down all of the cat tracks and runs and ended up at the upper lodge where we were having the awards.  I went inside to get out of my equipment and sat around talking to the other kids on my team about their race day.  The thing about ski racing is that it only takes one mistake to ruin an entire run and we (ski racers) spend so much tie perfecting the sport that it is so devastating to fall in a race scene.  A couple minutes later I had to stand around and watch people get medals.

During the awards my friend Shane surprised me with some great news.  He asked me out of no where if I wanted to go to California with him for the weekend.  How could I not deny such a request!  This lightened my mood and I was from then on stoked to get some sun on my pale white ski racer skin.

To Be Continued…..

Unexpected Bro Trip III (continued)

What I looked like right after my ski popped off

The lodge was nothing extraordinary, it had a lower level with food and a seating area and the same thing on the upper level.  We (my ski team) started putting on our ski stuff on and grabbed some breakfast burritos for the lift.  I was one of the last people to get on the hill because I take my time getting ready.  Who am I kidding, I am just overall slow at starting my day.  Once the process of getting ready was over I grabbed my pack and started my way up the lift.

15 Minutes Later…

After the ride up the chairlift and a ten minute cat track (a flat road used to get around a ski mountain) I had finally made it to the next chair lift which was what took me to the top of the race hill.  When I was sitting on the padded seat of the chairlift I was thinking to myself if I was still capable of winning a speed race.  I was at that time the younger generation of the U16’s I was fourteen while most everyone else was fifteen.  A majority of them had four inches and most likely twenty to thirty pounds on me.  After that thought passed through my head it dropped my confidence a little bit which is a grave mistake in ski racing.  I was then nearing the top of the lift with hesitation on my mental.

Left, right, left, right, delay, left right, jump, this was me memorizing the course.  Ski racers do this so they know exactly what is coming at them and to be ready for anything the hill throws at them.  It also helps me keep my head clear and focused because if I am not thinking about the course then I am usually getting side tracked or goofing off with my friends.  So it helps me mentally and physically in the sport.  The boy were running first today and i was bib fourteen so I had to lap around quick to get warmed up and strip down to my speed suit (the women usually run first in ski racing but this wasn’t the case today).

What a tuck looks like

Racer Ready? Ten seconds…. Five, Four, Three out I go from the start gate.  I drop straight into my tuck to gain some speed before the first pitch (a tuck is when you get low to the ground and put your elbows in-between your knees to stay aerodynamic.  A couple seconds later I was making turns down the pitch.  Left, right, Outside ski pressure! I told myself every turn.  Here comes the money gate (money gate is the most important gate in the course).  I started rolling my ski up onto edge and put all of my body weight on my outside ski.  A couple tenths later I hit a giant hole and my ski popped off.  I was going around fifty miles an hour and I was holding on for dear life so I wouldn’t go into the safety netting that lines the side of the runs.  It is supposed to keep you safe but sometimes I wonder if hitting a tree would hurt less than hitting the safety netting.  Thankfully I stayed on my feet and safely came to stop with anger in my veins.  I let out a f-bomb that all of the spectators could hear.  Once I cooled down a little a went down to my coach to tell him how much BS it is that my ski is popping off under those circumstances.

To Be Continued...

Unexpected Bro Trip III

Super-G Jump

It was around 11:30 in the afternoon when I packed up all of my ski stuff to load it on the van with a destination of Bogus Basin.  It was my first Super-G race of the year and I was stoked to actually get some real speed and get my adrenaline pumpin'.  The drive was about five or six hours through flat, boring, cattle filled plains.  Our team took a grey hound bus there and it smelled like a porta-potty the entire way there.  All of the older kids on the bus were saying how badly put together the race was and how there is always course holds.  Despite some empty doubts I was still so excited to get on my skis in a town other than my own (Park City, Utah).

We finally arrived at the hotel after a couple naps, headaches, and a terrible stench in my nose the entire way.  The hotel was very spread out and big and I could already tell that it was going to be a pain in the butt to get to my room.  I picked up both of my pairs of skis and my backpacks and starting walking up to my room.  It was on the second story and as far away from the stairs I come up then any other room in the hall.  The upside was that the beds were so damn comfortable that I never really wanted to get out of them.  I was rooming with my buddies Shane, and Charlie who I have known for basically my whole life.  Once we got settled in we had to go buff out our skis for the next day and put on all the necessary wax to get our skis as fast as possible.

Next Day

Beep... Beep... Beep.. went our alarm at around 6:30 in the morning and we all groaned in unison.  I stayed in bed for another five minutes while Charlie and Shane went back to the waxing room to scrape their skis that they didn't finish the night before.  I finally got up and took a quick shower to get woken up and started throwing on my ski clothes so I could make breakfast in time.  I had fifteen minutes to get all of skis, poles, and backpacks in the van and get something in my stomach.  I ran out with two skis on my shoulder and a backpack hanging from my arm.  I threw everything into the van and sprinted to breakfast.  Got there with just enough time to sit down for a couple of minutes and eat a couple bites before I had to make my way back to the van.  I got to the van with two minutes to spare and shortness of breath.  Now I had to sit through an hour long, windy road up to the ski resort. I put in my headphone and closed my eyes...

About an Hour and a Half later

I opened my eyes and looked out the window to see what was supposed to be a ski resort.  There was barely any snow to cover the trails.  This took away all of my excitement for the race and I was all of a sudden in not so good of a mood.  Coming from a dry season in Park City right back to another resort with a snow shortage.  After emptying the vans I headed up to the lodge and put on my ski clothes and decided to make the best with what I have...

To Be Continued....

Jackson Hole III

I was laying on the ground next to a couple of my other ski racer friends listening to some music to pump me up before my start.  Everyone around me was singing along and having a great time.  Number forty was in the start gate and I was getting stoked to send it!!  I stripped down to my speed suit from all of my warm up clothes that I had on.  I boot skied down to the start to cheer on some of my team mates before my run.  Scottie was in the gate “Go Scooch!!” all of us yelled as he pulled out of the start.  This went on for around ten more racers until I had to go click in for my run.

Thump Thump went my boots as my coach Cam knocked the snow off of the bottoms of them.  Cam said to me, “Alright Ben when you pull out of the start gate you want to put your foot in the groove and ride it out.  The track is getting a little sketchy and the ruts are deep.  All you got to do is ski athletically and do what you do.  Have fun Ben Good luck.”  I told him thanks and slid down to the beginning of the start gate.  There was around five racers in front of me so I was going through the course in my head trying to remember where I need to nail the course.

Before I knew I was in the start gate with the gate keep saying, “Racer Ready? Go!”  I pulled as hard as I could out of the gate towards the first gate.  The visibility was terrible and I could barely see seven gates in front of me.  Not only that but the ruts in the course were so deep I was basically jumping to each turn.  I was around half way down the course and I got flung from a rut to one side and ended up skiing backwards for five feet or so and managed to make the gate and turn my skis back around.  The best part about this run for me was not the quality of my skiing but how much fun I was having going down the course.  It was on of the most thrilling courses that I have ever skied so thrilling I was laughing through part of it and if you know me you know that is not usual for a ski race.